Alignment query
04-24-2006 | 03:09 PM
#1
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Joined: Dec 2004
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From: Roswell, Georgia
Alignment query
I recently replaced the rear tires on my '04 C2 with 18k. The shop (Butler Tire in Atlanta) checked my alignment on a sophisticated Hunter machine and pronounced it within spec which they said was a very rare occurrence for a 996. Since then the rear seems to squirm around a bit at higher speeds which when added to the lightness of the front-end tends to reduce confidence. It used to track pretty straight in the rear. I have taken the local PCA tech guy's advice of booking the car for an alignment at a local race prep shop (Kinetic in Buford). I am seeking knowledge / advice from the Board as I think they will offer me different set-up options. The pitch I have already heard from the shop is that factory spec is a pretty wide range and that they can set it up much more precisely. Beyond that I don't know - I assume there will be one set up for optional handling at the expense of comfort and tire longevity which is at the other end of the spectrum. Car is a daily driver and will not be tracked any time soon.
Any helpful thoughts are welcome.
Any helpful thoughts are welcome.
04-24-2006 | 04:10 PM
#2
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From: Montreal
Three things:
1) Dealers do not seem to be good at alignments in my experience. The race shop will do better.
2) Could the tires be defective? Another lister bought new tires and had his car pulling to one side - one rear tire was defective.
3) Have you carefully checked tire pressures? If they are different side to side, the car will not feel as planted.
1) Dealers do not seem to be good at alignments in my experience. The race shop will do better.
2) Could the tires be defective? Another lister bought new tires and had his car pulling to one side - one rear tire was defective.
3) Have you carefully checked tire pressures? If they are different side to side, the car will not feel as planted.
04-25-2006 | 01:06 AM
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From: Madison, WI
Factory spec is not that wide a range.
Tip.......when you leave a car for align, always request copy of printout on return........if they have set their gear correctly it will show the range (camber, caster, toe) and more important, where they found your car.......and where they left it....and where that sits relative the OE recomended range.
If your car drives significantly different now than it did.........fair chance, they had something to do with that........the printout would help.......also pretty handy for eval handling & tire wear between aligns.
Not saying the align was bogas.........just that there are at least a half doz factors affecting the way your care handles.......knowing what happened on this one, helps narrow things down a bit.
Tip.......when you leave a car for align, always request copy of printout on return........if they have set their gear correctly it will show the range (camber, caster, toe) and more important, where they found your car.......and where they left it....and where that sits relative the OE recomended range.
If your car drives significantly different now than it did.........fair chance, they had something to do with that........the printout would help.......also pretty handy for eval handling & tire wear between aligns.
Not saying the align was bogas.........just that there are at least a half doz factors affecting the way your care handles.......knowing what happened on this one, helps narrow things down a bit.